Down to the Bones ...

Sunday, July 22, 2018

There was a group of people who wanted to establish a new Surf Life Savers Club on a new beach:

Between them they gathered enough funds for a building.

Turned up weekly to go inside and practice

Marching in straight lines,

Overhead line pass

Brought in specialists. Famous names.

Taught the theory of swimmingSwimming while holding another afloat

Talking calmly to others to let them know that the shoreline isn’t too far away.

Months of training. Years of training. Yet they didn’t enter the water once, and people kept drowning.

In the reading today we hear Jesus equipping and sending out his disciples:

Mark 6:6-8 Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts

Jesus’ instructions seem to be an odd way to equip your followers. No food (not even a lunchbox) no bag, no money. But he did equip them with spiritual power. The authority over demons was the main tool needed for this journey. The rest is not a concern right now. It will be provided when the time comes. Have faith. The point is to go. Right now. 2 by 2.

And they should have had faith. By this time they had been with Jesus for about a year. They had seen him start off his ministry and drive out impure spirits, then go on to heal the sick, then those with Leprosy, even the paralysed. They had front row seats to see Jesus exercising his authority.

So did they Go? Yes, yes they did.

Mark 6:12-13 They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

That authority was real and evident in them.

So what about us disciples gathered here in the present. Do we feel trained and ready? Do we feel confident to step outside in faith? Or are we more like the surf life saving club afraid of the water?

If these services each Sunday were training sessions, how many would you need to feel ready? Here’s an experiment. Close your eyes and think how many years you have been a Christian. A rough guess is fine. Now half that number (divide by 2), then multiply by 100. That’s roughly how many hours spent in church.

Not only that we have the bible with us. An instruction book that even tells us how it’s going end.

Yet sometimes it feels like we’re strangely inadequate (myself included), unable to head out in faith, to seek and save the lost.

There was a period where the disciples from Mark’s gospel faltered. They watched their source of power be falsely accused, be stripped and humiliated, and laid bare on the cross. They ran away, their faith all but gone.

But Jesus wasn’t done with them, and he’s not done with us. Rising again Jesus not only claimed authority over death, but authority over everything. When ascending up to heaven he repeated the sending out:

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Thursday, October 05, 2017

The Authority of Jesus Questioned23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

2 Kids

When the father asks his 2 sons to help out, one says he will do it and then doesn’t, the other son says he won’t do it, then eventually turns around and does it. Who did what the father wanted?

When Jesus posed this question to the religious leaders, they answered by choosing the son who eventually turns around and helps out. Do you agree?

I’m sure the parents among us see this as a simple yes. From the Father’s perspective there is work to be done, and at the end of the day, no matter what was said, the work just has to be done. If not by the sons then, most likely, by the Father.

It’s disappointing to hear your son whinge and whine about doing what was asked, but it’s even more disappointing to be told it’s all under control and find out later on that nothing got done.

Actions speak louder than words.

Hypocrites

There is a name for people who say they are going to do something and then don’t. Anyone know? Hypocrites (Politicians?)

The word “hypocrite” was originally used to describe a greek actor about 400 years before Jesus. These actors would literally have a mask on to display the type of person they were portraying and their mood. This is a happy scene? Wait a minute and I’ll just go get my happy mask. From there the word branched out to cover people that hid behind a figurative mask; people looking happy even when they were sad, people saying one thing and doing another, people hiding their true intentions.

As an aside: Politics? Demosthenes, a respected politician in Athens ridiculed Aeschines because he used to be an actor. An untrustworthy man used to hiding behind a mask. A hypocrite. They have no place in such a respected profession...

Jesus had branded the Pharisees as hypocrites several times, but they weren’t alone. Earlier on in the chapter, Matthew writes about Jesus entering the temple. What appears from the outside to be a magnificent structure and the spiritual centre of the Jewish religion had been infested with moneymakers. A den of robbers. After that Jesus came across a fig tree. All leafy and green on the outside, but no fruit at all! What good is it!?

Now the Jewish leaders and elders come to Jesus to ask about his authority, but Jesus has a question back: where did John’s baptism come from?

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’, But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet."

So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Both answers show that deep inside, they really just wanted to maintain their OWN authority in the sight of others. They don’t want to be ridiculed and are more interested in saving face than actually seeking the answers they asked for. An outward appearance of seeking God, while an inward selfish preservation of the status quo.

Repenters

So what of the second son, the one who said no, but later went and helped? Isn’t that hypocrisy too?

It’s interesting to read that something happened between the second son’s response and his action:

29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

The son quite possibly had every intention of not helping, but something changed his mind. He dropped his selfish ways and turned back to the request of the Father.

Jesus drives home the parable:

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did.

John the Baptist was preaching about repentance, which, in the original greek, can also mean a “changing of the mind”. Those that started out disobeying the will of the Heavenly Father, the crooks and whores, were the ones that changed their minds. They were the ones that went. They were the ones that started to do the will of the Father, They were the ones bearing fruit.

Of the 2 sons, the hypocrite and the repenter, which one are you? I’ve been a Christian all my life, I’m now an Elder. Like it or not, I identify more with the religious leaders in this story than the lost-and-now-saved. Am I a hypocrite? Do I say one thing and do another? Sadly, sometimes the answer is yes ...

The real hypocrisy - not seeing the need to repent.

32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Our heavenly Father had offered John’s message to the Jews, yet those most entwined in the Law failed to act. They believed their words and actions kept them in high regard, yet ALL fail to meet the perfection required. There was only one whose actions carried out the will of the Father perfectly, Jesus.

Even from an early age the bible says Jesus had a thirst for God’s Word. We hear that he stayed in the temple soaking up the Jewish teachings, discussing and debating with the religious teachers of the time. He prayed to His Father, especially before big events, to keep the lines of communication open.

Jesus loved others. He wasn’t afraid of how it looked to eat with tax collectors and sinners, he saw the need in others and acted. Even to the end, in the garden Jesus prayed “Let not my will but Your will be done”. Loving us enough to lay down his life.

Jesus message echoed John’s. Repent and believe. All have sinned and all need saving. I have come to seek and save the lost. Through my sacrifice you can be made whole with the Father. Through my sacrifice you can walk with him in the garden again. Turn from you ways and remain with the Father. Change your mind to be in tune with the Father. Don’t just say you’ll love other, actually love others!

Father, change our minds so that we are always listening for your call. Father, change our minds so that we have the courage to answer “Yes, you can count on me” Father, change our minds so that we do what you ask.May our actions speak louder than words.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Summary:
Adaptive Grids are a procedural generation technique for area and point based topologies that can expand to n-dimensional space.

Preamble:
Although ROAM was a technique that inspired temporal ROAM (Later, VRWorlds), there has been an unresolved question on how to adapt the self-similarity of right triangles to 3 dimensions and above. I’ve been considering a square / cube based approach that exhibits the near-parent properties of ROAM, but have usually run afoul of being unable to conceptualize it into a working model past the main recursive function. A breakthrough in going from 3x3 to 4x4 grids as a starting point has spawned a lot of additional pieces to fall into place.

Introduction: Realtime Optimally Adaptive Meshes (ROAM) have certain key features when attempting to build procedurally generated content (like terrain).
- Scaleable depth: ROAM allows one part of the map to be generated more deeply than another part of the map. This is important in terrain generation as a potentially infinite terrain can be generated without infinite memory / storage requirements to generate the entire world at the proposed granularity.
- Deterministic depth: ROAM can be configured to always return the same division given the same parents. This allows the scaleable depth to continue to generate the same result given a very high level starting parent set, which in turn allows ROAM to roll up and forget previously expanded areas in favour of the currently viewed area.
- Continuous mesh deformation: Any change made by ROAM continues to keep the mesh cohesive and continuous due to the reliance of splitting pairs of right triangles together based on known parents. This largely removes issues of creasing and tent-poling inherent in many terrain generation techniques.
Adaptive Grids attempt to mimic these traits, but be based off a grid (of squares for 2-dimensional space, cubes for 3-dimensional space, etc).Continuous mesh deformation is currently not retained for the eventual mesh itself, but utilises parental involvement to remove creasing.

Adaptive Grid core algorithm:
(The algorithm is explained for a 2-dimensional surface using squares. Extensions to higher dimensions are trivial, but covered formally later.)
Given a set of parents arranged in a 3x3 grid of squares, the Adaptive Grid generates a 3x3 grid ½ the size centered on the middle square. The new squares rely on the parents that they overlap with. This means that the new middle square is determined solely by the middle parent; the new cardinal squares are determined by the middle square and the adjacent parent (Eg: New square to the north requires the middle parent and the northern parent); and the new corner squares are determined by the middle square and the 3 other parental squares in that diagonal direction (Eg: New square to the NorthEast requires the middle, North, East & NorthEast parents).

Since the algorithm produces another 3x3 grid at a deeper layer, the algorithm can be recursively applied to create an arbitrary depth.

Top Layer:
If a top layer of 3x3 is used to initiate the algorithm, it can continue to develop infinite depth, but no method of developing breadth of grid when at an arbitrary depth. Any requirement to develop anything other than the centre grid requires the rebuilding of another parent in the previous layer to make the requested square a centre square. The parent would also require a grand-parent in the layer above, and so on, eventually breaking due to the absence of a parent outside of the initial 3x3 layer.

To allow a defined space for breadth generation, the Adaptive Grid is initiated with a 4x4 grid. This allows the generation of a grid of arbitrary size or arbitrary depth to be generated within a 1x1 size square centred on the midpoint of the 4x4 grid. (Eg: an initial grid of 4x4 squares of 128 unit length can generate a 64x64 grid with 2 unit length inside a 128x128 space centered on the middle of the initial grid)

4x4 grid layer progression:
When initiating an Adaptive Grid with a 4x4 layer, the amount of squares in each fully expanded subsequent layer increases with this observed sequence:

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

Layer 4

Layer 5

4

5

7

11

19

The calculation for each layer follows the sequence: Layer(n) = Layer(n-1)*2-3

Proof of defined space:
Since the child 3x3 grid is located centrally over the parent 3x3 grid, the middle child is a direct shrinking of the parent middle square. Continued shrinking makes the centre square reduce the area around the centre point, but never will reduce the centre point to nothingness or deviate from the centrepoint. The sides of the square asymptote to the central point. Since the side length of each square is the same across the entire grid, as the middle square side length reduces toward 0, so too does the outer squares. Therefore the outside of the outer squares also asymptotes toward the central point, which is 1.5 units in from the outside of each outer square.

Applying this asymptote to a 4x4 grid means that the outside of the outer squares will only ever need to be brought in by 1.5 units when creating a grid of infinite depth. Removing 1.5 units from the borders of the 4x4 grid leaves a 1x1 unit area that cannot be reached, thus leaving the area to be rendered by an arbitrary grid size (Eg: If the requirement for a 1000x1000 grid is needed covering an area of 100 m2 (side 10m), a starting Adaptive Grid of side 40m or larger is required).

Sunday, April 10, 2016

The Hamlet

Much work to do. Once a bustling hive of activity, the hamlet offered little in service. It, too, had felt the harsh sting of my lineage’s demise. Boarded up and left to time’s grasp. Rising above the rooftops our mansion silhouetted the sky with exposed beams like festering claws. No place to stay anymore.

We need fresh souls to infuse life into this dilapidated estate, and for that, a restoration of the stagecoach network is my first priority. With deeds and crests of sovereignty, the veins of commerce were once again revived.

Canouville was the first to alight into our bleak domain, an aspiring Vestal with judgemental vigor. Raoullin also made the journey, but his proclivity to plague made for an awkward commute. Our assembly is enough to embark upward into the ruinous remains of my bloodline.

The Ruins

With limited provisions we set out to my ancestral home. Gothic architecture rising above once demanded respect, now webbed in neglect it portrayed a more sinister abode. Leading the way through the grandiose entrance, I halted at the sight of candles bracing a raised altar beneath a muralled monk. Lit candles. Apprehensive we scanned the foyer, but skeletal remains adorning the windows only indicated a prior, more murderous occasion.

Ever east through creaking door to a corridor festooned with derelict shelves of vellum and decaying plaster. Still nothing, but the tension eats into Dismas and I as we exchange nervous glances. Of note, an unburned torch held aloft, poised for a task long forgotten. We will give it purpose again.

Up ahead, a strongbox placed proudly in the vaulted chamber drew our gaze while a rabble of bones lurched toward us in animated fits. “To Arms!”

Raullin, silent as ever, reacted first with a puff of emboldening vapours to break my shocked condition and keen the senses. Dismas drew and fired forcefully, splintering bone and exploding whatever foul mastery held its frame together. “Back to the Pit!” He raged. I followed with my own critical smite to blanket the floor with unholy remains. They CAN be fought, they CAN be beaten!

Our attention turned to the reinforced chest. Surely no sober logic leaves this prize so openly on display? A trap? Dismas dared the lock with well-seasoned expertise and proffered up coin, scriven records of land grants and an unlikely shovel. “We’ll be needing that” announced Canouville, scouting the upcoming passageway. True enough, a crude jumble of stones and debris stood tall, defying our advance. Protruding corpses of unknown labourers mocked our attempts to clear the rubble, but with grim determination and spaded steel we overcame the obstacle.

Lying in wait, a brace of skeletons lumbered toward us, backed by a masked cultist. Grapeshot peppered them all as Dismas took command, urging us into the fray. Raoullin let loose a blinding flask of fireworks toward the surprised acolyte while I zealously accused the leading skeletons; “Destroy. Them. All!” My words ripped through what fabric of control bound the bones together, leaving one in a clattering heap and the other wavering. Delivering holy judgement upon the stunned cultist, Canouville’s call boomed bright to rip clear the mask and expire the eyes behind it. The remaining soldier of bone took a grave slash toward our group, catching Canouville off guard. Dismas closed with knife in hand, but skilled execution in bloodletting offered no assistance in felling the calcified corpse, leaving the fatal blow to my own hand. A faint hope blossoms.These creatures seem poorly constructed and easily overpowered by zealous might.

Through the portico into another ruined expanse. No ambush or assault, but a choice of paths for consideration. We head East, more through comforting routine than strategic merit.

Saturday, April 09, 2016

Reynauld the Crusader

As the stagecoach wheels clattered along the cobblestones leading to our venerable house, I held the note loosely, hoping that the pored-over words would shake into a more enlightening alignment. The lanterns held back the darkness, but offered little comfort to my wandering mind. Memories of playing in the cavernous halls of that old house flooded back.

An unearthly howl pierced the night and broke me from my reverie. The startled horses bucked out and couldn’t be contained by the driver’s whip. We left the road to an even bumpier excursion before clattering to a halt minus a wheel and our means of locomotion. Dismas and I were unscathed, but alone as the coach driver scurried after the fleeing mares, a torrent of cursing that trailed into the blackness.

“I guess this means we are on foot?” Queried Dismas.

We left the luggage for a future return and headed East. Ever East. The hamlet is just ahead.

A grizzled thug stepped out to block our path, but we were in no mood to talk. Dismas, good with a knife, opened his veins while I landed a pommel strike to daze him for a moment. He recovered quickly though and still managed a slashing uppercut that caught my brow. Move quicker or die. Dismas dispatched him with ruthless efficiency to bring the tempo back to an eerie night’s walk. The gold will help, if only to make the tavern that much more enticing upon arrival.

Ever East.

A disheveled tent came into view, but no movement betrayed its owner. Possibly the lowlife bleeding out back on the road? Dismas wasted no time in claiming the additional gold and misappropriated onyx.

Another ambush! We’ll send them a message that the rightful owner has returned and there is no place for these vermin. Dismas was quick to shoot, but the grapeshot missed both the larger, whip-wielding brigand or the fusiler toward the back. I landed a stunning blow to curtail the bloodletter’s flaying, but couldn’t escape the blanket fire that erupted into the night. Back to the knives for Dismas as we focused on the heavy-set villian to drop him quickly. The whip was our concern, but a point blank shot drove me away before returning with my own justified strike. Prodigious size alone does not dissuade the sharpened blade.

Pelted with blanket fire, Dismas and I took shelter behind the fallen mass, but the rain of shrapnel didn’t cease. Exploding through the bloodied carcass, we set upon the rifle-clad bandit with steel. As the fiend fell, a faint hope blossomed.

Portraits, deeds and crests of my heritage lay with the fallen, but I will make something of them in time. More gold to be relieved too, but the hard-won chest held nothing but blight.

My return was not met with adulation. These squalid lands, these corrupted hovels are mine to rebuild, but the populace remain ambivalent. I, too, fear they may be right. Stress rises when I see their downcast husks.

An Unwelcome Letter

“Ruin has come to our family. “

“You remember our venerable house? Opulent and imperial, gazing proudly from its stoic perch above the moor. I lived all my years in that ancient, rumour-shadowed manor, fattened on decadence and luxury”

“And yet I began to tire of conventional extravagance. Singular, unsettling tales suggested the mansion itself was a gateway to some fabulous and unnameable power.”

“With relic and ritual, I bent every effort towards the excavation and recovery of those long buried secrets, exhausting what remained of our family fortune on sworly workmen and sturdy shovels.”

“At last, in those salt-soaked crags beneath the lowest foundations, we unearthed that damnable portal and a deluded evil. Our every step unsettled the ancient earth, but we were in a realm of death and madness.”

“In the end, I, alone, fled laughing and wailing through those blackened arcades of antiquity until consciousness failed me.”

Monday, March 28, 2016

Finally got a woo to measure jumping height, and March delivered a 2 weeks spell of near 20 knot days to test it out. This video was of a particularly clean day in the run-out channel at 1/2 tide. Such a smooth section. Such a lovely day to be out on the water. Such a great time going higher and higher!

One slight deviation from the old Clarion application is that I have instituted player pools as a starting point for a tournament. All players for a tournament are entered into a sorted list (player pool) that the tournament template draws from. This allows the generation of the player pool to be independent from the tournament template and can therefore be used to test all sorts of varied starting positions and even seeding patterns.

For smaller tournament formats (8 players or less), every possible player pool combination can be generated and used in sequence to eliminate another possible bias. For 8 players this would be 40320 combinations (8 factorial). If a tournament is larger than 8, you could potentially take the top 8 combinations and interleave other random players to give 16, 32, 64, or 128 player pools. This would give a large control set (~40,000 samples), but at least give a somewhat even spread of higher candidates.Unfortunately it would also eliminate the random chance that the most skilled player meets the second most skilled player in round 1 of a 128 player tournament. Since generating a random player pool will be quite easy, I can also test the difference of these two formats and isolate a specific amount of bias due to potential seeding.

Because the tournament template system is flexible enough to allow all sorts of formats, it is also flexible enough to bring in all sorts of loops, missing players, unlinked matches, etc, so I'll be making up a validator to vet each tournament template before running thousands of tests on an invalid tournament.

Here's the high level pseudocode:

Start with the final match and work back along the player entry locations until all matches have been processed into a list (vettedMatchList) and all the players are in another list (competitorList). This also sets the match layer (how deep into the tournament that this match represents)

Check to make sure that all TournamentTemplateMatches for this TournamentTemplate have been accounted for.

Check to make sure that all competitors have an entry into the tournament

Build a list (noExitMatchList) for each match that 2nd place continues in the tournament.This is combined with the match layer to evaluate final exit position for 2nd placegetters that do NOT continue.

Mark the tournament as valid and update the database with match layers & exit positions.

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

13-16Kn, NE Archie's (40mins)
The pulleys had worn through the outer sheath of the original 14m bridle lines a couple of weeks ago. I'd been using it a little more regularly, but hadn't noticed the pulley had collapsed and was pushing the lines up against the sharp edges of the pulley wall. Both sides had collapsed so I think they may have been on the way out for a while but I hadn't noticed. Eventually decided to hand it over to Wardy for replacement as the inner core didn't look like it would last more than a session.

I finally got to test the 14m today and it performed better than I remember. The canopy remained full even with agressive turns and delivered smooth power coming off turns. I had to trim in the centre lines like my 10m, but I was contemplating doing that from a couple of performances before the bridle replacement anyway.